Operating compartment for refrigerated storage structures



OPERATING COMPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATED STORAGE STRUCTURES Filed April 20, 1951 E. J. MATHER 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 6, 1954 W T @N m m 2 IlM m W w M 1 M- A 1 RA Jim 9, w WM 1 d 3 22222;? m m 5:52? a: .m J szgzfiz F 5 2232225 1 8 1 U 0 l m .7, M L m m@ m m a n nflwN R Q N E. J. MATHER July 6, 1954 OPERATING COMPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATED STORAGE STRUCTURES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 20, 1951 E. J. MATHER July 6, 1954 OPERATING COMPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATED STORAGE STRUCTURES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 20, 1951 R O N E V m BY Q44; H- ma ATTORNEY" E. J. MATHER July 6, 1954 OPERATING COMPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATED STORAGE STRUCTURES Filed April 20, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 l l ill! [III III] M QN W NVENTOR qw I w V Q Q.@ On Q July 6, 1954 Filed April 20, 1951 E. J. MATHER OPERATING COMPARTMENT FOR REFRIGERATED STORAGE STRUCTURES 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 ATTORNEY Patented July 6, 1954-.

OPERATING COMPAR-TMENT FOR REFRIG- ERATED STORAGE STRUCTURES Elmer J. Mather, Chevy Chase, Md., assignor to Southern Dairies, Inc., Charlotte, N. 0., a corporation of Delaware Application April 20, 1951, Serial No. 221,987

4 Claims.

The present invention relates to refrigerated storage structures and more particularly aims to provide an enclosed chamber for holding in refrigerated storage quantities of ice cream or the like.

An important object of the invention is to provide a structure of the class indicated in which individual units to be stored, such for example as the five gallon cans of bulk ice cream or the like which are shown in the drawings, can be put into the enclosure from one end and removed from an opposite end, so that the units will be withdrawn from storage in the order in which they were put in storage.

A further object is to provide a device of the character indicated which will be compartmented for separation of the storage chamber from the operating chamber in which the refrigerating mechanism is contained.

A related object is to provide a construction in whicha plurality of storage chambers, each comprising a unitary compartment structure, can be operatively connected to a single operating chamber compartment, thus enabling an installation to be enlarged or reduced in size and capacity in accordance with changing demands.

Another object is to provide a structure of the class indicated in which defrosting of the refrigerator coil is readily accomplished by an operating chamber adjustment which will direct a defrosting current of air through the coil while the storage compartment remains sealed off and thus held under substantial refrigeration.

Further objects are to provide a refrigerated storage chamber or analogous structure which will be economical to manufacture and simple and inexpensive to operate and which will be reliable and satisfactory in use.

A more detailed object is to supply the need of distributors of ice cream for a practical and economical storage means in which large or small quantities of ice cream, which are subject to wide seasonal fluctuation, can be maintained under proper refrigeration for release in accordance with the requirements of retailers or other eonillustrative only and that the broad principles of the invention may be otherwise embodied and incorporated in other and different forms for specifically other and different purposes and uses.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a twounit storage structure combined with a single operating compartment with the front walls of the compartment and of one of the chambers removed; a

Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of one of the storage chambers, taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of the operating compartment, taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a vertical cross sectional view of the operating compartment with a single unit storage chamber attached thereto, taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional view through the operating compartment and a portion of astorage chamber connected thereto, taken on the line 5- 5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a front elevational view of the framing structure used in the combination two-unit storage structure and single operating compartment structure shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a detail horizontal sectional view taken on the line 1-4 of Fig. 6; and

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of the operating compartment frames, taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 6.

Generally speaking, the invention comprises an operating unit and one or more storage units adapted to be connected to form a single, integrated chamber structure for maintaining under refrigeration a quantity of objects such as packaged frozen food products, with means for connecting the operating unit seluectively and alternatively with one or more storage units so that each storage unit can be refrigerated by the single operating unit.

To accomplish these objects the structure includes basically a plurality of frameworks of rigid building material, such as metal angles, fabricated to provide large generally rectangular shapes which are formed into box-like enclosures by the application of outer walls of insulating material provided With doors as may be required and an internal wall or pair of walls each provided with openings or open areas adapted to be secured to a similar internal wall of a cooperating framework, so that communication will be established between the two enclosures for passage of refrigerated air between the operating and storage compartments. Use of frameworks, as will be hereinafter explained, enables the structure to be built or remodeled to include additional storage compartments by the simple expedient of substituting additional compartments for the wall which closes the outermost end of the framing structure of the endmost storage compartment already connected to the operating compartment. Similarly, the structure may readily be reduced in size by removing the endmost compartment and substituting an end wall therefor.

Referring now to the drawings, in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated, the reference numeral i designates in its entirety an operating compartment, and 2 designates in its entirety each one of a pair of storage compartments. As best shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the operating compartment i contains refrigeration equipment for supplying a current of cold air to the storage compartments 2, which are adapted to contain any material which it is desired to keep under refrigeration, such as the supply of conventional five gallon cans of bulk ice cream 3 shown in the present embodiment of the invention.

Each of the compartments is made of a basic frame structure fabricated from standard structural iron shapes, such as the angles shown in the drawing, bolted or welded together to provide a rectangular skeleton frame adapted to have a standard type of insulating wall panel secured thereto to provide a large box-like compartment, enclosure or chamber.

Figs. 6 and 7 show the manner in which each of the skeleton frameworks, one for each of the compartments, is made and how the several are bolted together to combine into a single unit one operating compartment and one or more storage compartments. In these figures the reference numeral d designates the skeleton framework for the operating compartment i, and the reference numeral designates the skeleton framework for one of the storage compartments 2.

Referring first to the operating compartment I, the framework 4 thereof is made of two upright front and rear end frames 6, each fabricated from straight lengths of angle irons mitered at their corners and welded together, and these two end frames 6 are united by four horizontal angles '1 connecting the corresponding corners of the frames ii, to provide the basic box-like skeleton structure.

Each of the storage compartment frameworks ii is similarly fabricated from a front and rear upright end frame 8 made of lengths of angle stock welded together and connected by horizontal angles d at the four corners of the two end frames.

It will be evident that the frameworks 4 and 5 can be secured together very readily, as by means of bolts i turned through holes drilled in the facing flanges of the substantially abutting angles of the frames 6 and 8, and it will be evident also that bolts H can be similarly employed to connect together a pair of frameworks 5 of storage compartments 2, all as best shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

The marginal surfaces of the composite combined framework structure provided by the bolting together of the frameworks 4 and 5, or 4, 5 and 5, as shown in Fig. 6, providing fiat faces I2 which can be drilled, as shown at l3, for the reception of screws such as are shown at M in Fig.

2 for jacketing the framework with outer walls id in the form of substantial insulating slabs or panels. While any standard efficient commercial type of panel can be used, I prefer to employ the kind indicated in the drawings, which comprises a pair of plywood sheets :6 with an interposed fill it of rock wool, glass fiber or the like, and inner and outer surface coverings it of heavy bright sheet metal, such as aluminum.

These walls 15 are disposed over the top and under the bottom of each of the several frameworks, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, and along the outer end surface of the operating compartment i as shown in Fig. l, and along the front and rear surfaces of the compartments i and 2, as shown in Fig. 5.

At each of their junctions, the several walls are provided with an interlocking type of joint comprising a batten strip i9 seated in a pair of facing grooves formed in the panel or slab end edges, thus breaking the joint, and the outer surfaces of the joints are dressed by trimming strips 2d of T-shape in cross section.

The upper or roof wall and the lower or floor wall of each of the two kinds of compartments are both imperforate, as is also the outer end wall of the operating compartment 5. The front and rear walls of the storage compartments, however, are provided with large doorway openings 2| which are closed by doors 22, preferably disposed in pairs including an upper door and a lower door. Similarly, one of the end walls, such as the rear end wall, of the insulating slab for the operating compartment i is provided with upper and lower door openings 23, each covered by a door it. All the doors are formed of insulating material slabs or panels, which may be of the same type as those of the outer walls themselves, and they may be mounted on hinges 25, with jamb catches 26, as best shown at the right hand side of Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the operating compartment l, which is covered by insulating panel walls at its bottom, top, outer end, and front and rear, but is left quite open and uncovered at its inner end:

This operating compartment contains, in its lower zone, a refrigerating coil 3 which is supplied with a suitable refrigerant through header pipes 3 E, from any conventional compressor source (not shown). The coil is mounted in end head plates and is supported as a unit at one end on an angle iron base frame 32 and at its other end on the inner edge of a base frame 33 for an electric motor 3 5 which is positioned at one end of the coil. lhe base frames 32 and 33 are supported on the horizontal flanges of the bottom angles of the operating compartment framework i.

Above the coil 39 and motor 34 a pair of angles 35 are bolted horizontally to the upright framing angles and provide support for a horizontal partition plate as above the motor 34 and for a pair of vertical partition plates 37 which in turn support a horizontal partition plate 38 extending entirely across the intermediate zone of the operating compartment, all as best shown in Fig. 3.

The partition 36 cooperates with the adjacent partition 3i to provide an enclosure for the motor 3:; separate from the coil as, and the adjacent vertical partition plate 3? provides a support for a bearing 39 for the shaft cc of air circulating or blower means here shown as a pair of centrifugal fans 4! which are supported on stringers 42 bearing on the angles 35. These fans have their intake openings exposed to the coil 30, and their outlets extend upthrough openings in the horizontal partition plate 38, so that the zone above this partition plate becomes a plenum chamber for air cooled by having been drawn through the coil 30.

The inner side of the operating compartment I, which it will be recalled is the only side not provided with an insulating wall or slab, closed by a large metal plate 43 which extends entirely from front to rear of the framework, being bolted to the flanges of the vertical angle irons, as shown at 44, but which terminates short of the top and bottom angles, so as to leave a top aperture 45 and a bottom aperture 46 both of which, as shown in Fig. 8, extend entirely across the operating compartment framework.

These two apertures are adapted to be closed or left open by the position of a damper or closure for each aperture. Thus, the bottom aperture 46 is controlled by a closure in the form of a door 5'! which is hinged at its ends in brackets to fastened to the vertical angles of the framework and extends entirely across the compartment so that it can be lowered, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, to open the aperture 46, or can be lifted to closed position, being held closed by coaction with any suitable detent, such as a pair of spring pressed plunger catches 19, one at each end of the closure.

The upper aperture 46 is similarly controlled by a closure in the form of a door or damper plate 50 hinged at its ends in brackets 5! fastened to the angles of the framework. This closure door 53 is normally held open by catches 52 similar to the catches 49, but is capable of being released so as to drop to vertical position closing the aperture 35. 7

It will be evident that when the apertures 55 and 46 are both closed, by lowering the closure 50 and lifting the closure 41, the entire inner end wall of the operating compartment I is closed, and that when each of these two closures is swung to its open position, the upper and lower apertures 45 and 46 are unobstructed, so that operation of the fans M by the motor 34 will cause air to be drawn in through the lower aperture, cooled by the coil 30, and blown out through the upper aperture.

The adjacent storage compartment 2, as shown in Fig. 1, is arranged with an open end wall which can be juxtaposed to the inner end wall of the operating compartment so that air will be drawn from out the bottom of the storage compartment and blown in again at the top thereof after it has been cooled in the operating compartment.

To the foregoing end the storage compartment is provided with a perforated ceiling plate 60 and a similarly perforated floor plate 6!, each extending entirely across the compartment and being located at approximately the levels of the top and bottom, respectively, of the plate 43, i. e., at the bottom and top, respectively, of the apertures and 46.

These plates are supported in the framework of the compartment 2 by cross angle members 62 and 63, which may be connected by front and rear vertical strap irons G4 which in turn are connected by horizontal division angles 65.

A central division angle 66 is disposed across the compartment, and it and the lower angle 63 support right and left end channels 61 which serve as bearings for a series of parallel closely set rollers 68. The channels 61 are slightly 6 pitched downwardly from rear to front of the compartment so that the rollers form a roller conveyor surface. Cans 3 or other objects in storage can thus be mounted on the bed or floor formed by the rollers and will tend by gravity to move forward, between the rear and front doorway openings 2 l. The foremost of the cans or other objects is kept from falling out through the front doorway, even when the door 22 thereof is open, by a low stop plate 69 which is mounted on the front cross angle $3 of the lower chamber,

or on a similar cross angle l0 provided for the upper chamber.

It will be recognized that this arrangement provides for a biased movement of the cans 3 from the inlet doorway 2i at the rear of the cornpartment. to the outlet doorway 2i at the front, where a can is always presented at the head of its line, so that cans will be removed from each line in the order in which they were placed in the compartment.

The cans or other objects in the compartment 2 are kept under refrigeration by air which is cooled in the operating compartment 1 and passes through theaperture 45 down through perforations in the ceiling plate 6%, past the cans,

- through the perforations in the floor plate 6! and back into the operating compartment through the lower aperture 46.

If a second storage compartment is joined against the outer. end of the first storage cornpartment, as is shown in Fig. 1, the two storage compartments communicate at their adjacent surfaces. Cooled air will therefore pass in part down through the perforated plates to and 53 of the first storage compartment, and in part also through the end openings by which the space above the plate til of the first storage compartment communicates with the space above the plate fill of the second storage compartment, and thence down through the perforations of the latter plate, through the second storage compartment and the perforations of the floor plate ti thereof, and then back under the floor plates 6i of both compartments through the aperture 55 into the operating compartment.

If it be found that unequal amounts of cold air tend to pass through the two storage compartments, it is a simple matter to lay a sheet of metal or the like over part of the area of one of the plates 66 or $53 so as to obstruct some of the perforationsand thus tend to equalize the flow through the two storage compartments.

The foregoing is the mode of operation during normal refrigerating use. It becomes necessary, at times, to defrost the coil 3%, and this is readily and quickly accomplished by simply closing the dampers or closures 50 and 41 and opening both operating compartment end wall doors 2:3. When the motor 36 is then operated, air will be drawn in through the lower door opening 23, down past the motor 34 to the zone beneath the coil 30, thence up through the coil and the fans GI and into the plenum chamber above the fans, and thence out through the opening 23. The air traveling in this defrosting circuit is of course kept from entering the storage compartment by the closed door or closure 56, and cold air in the storage compartment is kept from being withdrawn by the closed door or closure il.

Water defrosted from the coil 30 drains down into the bottom of the operating compartment and out through an outlet pipe H, which is kept normally capped at its discharge end in order assay-25s to prevent aspiration of warm :air into theoperating compartment.

It will be evident that various details" of the disclosed preferred embodiment .maylibe altered without departing from .the principles of the invention as defined by :the broaderof the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a refrigerated storage structure, a plurality of walls defining an operating compartment comprising lower and upper chambers separated by an intervening space, each .chamber having an opening to the exteriorlin one wall and a door provided for each of said openings and each chamber having an aperturein another wall communicating with a storage space and provided with a closure, a refrigerating coil in one of said chambers, a blower .iinsaid space in communication with both chambers, and a motor for driving the blower mounted between said coil-containing chamber and the opening of said chamber, whereby the openings canbeclosed by the doors and the apertures opened torecircu' late air over the coil and through the apertures in a closed circuit, and whereby the openings can be opened and the apertures closed by the closures to circulate exterior air over the motor and thence over the coil for defrosting.

2. In a refrigerated storage structure, a plurality of walls defining an operating compartment comprising lower and upper chambers separated by an intervening space, each chamber having an opening to the exterior in one wall and a door provided for each of said openings and each chamber having an aperture in another Wall communicating with a storage space and provided with a closure, a refrigerating coil in the lower chamber, a blower in said space in communication with both chambers, and a motor for driving the blower mounted between the lower chamber and the opening of the lower chamber, whereby the openings can be closed by the doors and the apertures opened to recirculate air over the coil and through the apertures in a closed circuit, and whereby the openings can be opened and the apertures'closed by the closures to circulate exterior air over the motor and thence over the coil for defrosting 3. In a refrigerated storage structure, a plurality of walls defining an operating compartment including right-angularly related compartment end and side walls, said compartment comprising lower and upper chambers separated by an intervening space, each chamber having an 0 Number opening to theex-terior formed in said end wall and a door provided for each of said openings and each chamber having an aperture in said side wall communicating with a storage space and provided with a closure, a refrigerating coil in one of said chambers and a blower in said space in communication with both chambers, whereby the openings can be closed by the doors and the apertures opened to recirculate air over the coil and through the apertures in a closed circuit, and whereby the openings can be opened and the apertures closed by the closures to circulate exterior air over the coil for defrosting.

4. In a refrigerated storage structure, a plurality of walls including a relatively short end wall and a relatively-long side wall defining an operating compartment adapted to be attached at its side to a storage compartment wall of the same length as said side wall, said operating compartment comprising a lower relatively short chamber and an upper relatively long chamber separated by an interveningspace, each chamher having an opening to the exterior in said end wall and a door provided for each of said J openings and each chamber having an aperture in said side wall adapted to register with an opening in said storage compartment wall and provided with a closure, said upper chamber aperture being substantially as long as said operating compartment side wall, a refrigerating coil in the lower chamber, and a blower in said space having its intake in communication with the lower chamber and its discharge in communication with the upper chamber, whereby the openings can be closed by the'doors and the apertures opened to pass air in a closed circuit from the storage compartment over the coil, through the upper chamber aperture and into the storage compartment through an opening in said wall thereof the full length thereof and the full length of said upper chamber and said upper chamber side wall, and whereby the openings can be opened and the apertures closed by the closures to circulate exterior air over the coil for defrosting.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Baird Mar. 9, 1948 Baird Mar. 9, 1948 Brouse Apr. 12, 1949 

